Hotel Arabia show

Hotel Arabia show

The last edition in 2009 showcased products and services of 280 companies from 23 countries and attracted in excess of 15,000 trade visitors.

Getting stronger year after year, the 2010 event will host international groups in the packaging sector from Europe, China, Egypt and Taiwan supported by the equally large local Saudi processing and packaging industry.

Food and Hotel Arabia will see the presence of Turkey, China, UAE, Thailand, Egypt, Europe and USA and leading names from the Saudi food industry.

The special feature of Top Chef and Art de Table will continue its successful staging organized by the Saudi Chef Association with each evening having a cooking demonstration and cuisine from different countries adjudicated by a panel of international judges. Garnishing and food display will be part of this activity as well.

Leading hotels and restaurants will be participating in the Art de Table contest exhibiting the fine art of table display.

The exhibition in its 16th successful series, organized by Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions is open to trade and business visitors 5-10 pm daily.

Saudi Arabia is a $10bn import market for food and agricultural products. Saudi imports of consumer-oriented products are growing approximately 6% annually and are now estimated at $5bn. In December 2005, Saudi Arabia became a member of the WTO; it agreed to ease trade restrictions and improve trade and investment opportunities in an effort to diversify its economy.

The Saudi government has set the task of achieving near self-sufficiency in food; a big challenge as Saudi Arabia is one of the world's most arid countries. Limited agricultural production will lead to continuing and increasing imports in the future. In value terms, Saudi Arabia is the world's 19th largest agri-food importer.

Saudi Arabia's agri-food imports averaged at $10bn annually for the last 4 years. Almost 80% of Saudi Arabia's food needs are imported. The top four products accounted for 40% of total imports. Top Saudi Agri-food imports are barley, sheep, rice and chicken, top suppliers being Brazil, India, Ukraine and Australia.
Agies... you got it in one. From my (albeit limited) experience working in banquets, what with licensing and liability concerns, if someone wants to take food away from your restaurant/banquet floor, you make 'em sign something like above. Sure, it doesn't speak too highly towards the shelf-life of said food, but then again, if you get ill from your poorly-preserved leftovers, no lawsuit for you!